Hids Failed Mot :(

[Parthiban]

This may just be a one-off but thought I'd give everyone who has aftermarket HIDs a headsup..........I've had my car MOTd at Lexus Woodford ever since it's needed one and the it flew through the last two. However, on it's third MOT today, I was informed that with those headlights it would be a fail.

When I enquired as to why it had never been a problem in the past, she thinks they have a new beam tester (but wasn't sure), so I'm guessing they must have got stricter with the amount of light scatter there can be.

Either way, I'm sure most people won't have a problem with this, but just wanted to warn everyone to perhaps swap the old bulbs in, or keep them in the car come MOT time just in case it doesn't get through.

A quick shout out must go to the friendly people at Woodford who kindly disconnected my HIDs and put in a set of standard bulbs (at no cost I might add) to allow my car to pass with flying colours :D

[sparkystav]

Hmm, never had a problem so far with mine, and the last place i went are really strict.

Will see what happens next time. thanks for the heads up.

Stav

[aztecbandit1]

When i had mine MOT'd last week i had to remove some of my LED's, and the MOT chap who did my car said that they are cracking down on the use of aftermarket/modified lighting and have to issue an advisory if they find them being used in a vehicle at the time of the MOT?

But if you do get the advisory notice it is also logged on the MOT system, so if your pulled over and you have re-fitted them again after the MOT you can face an on the spot fine??

Thats come from the MOT inspector and he says they are also cracking down on the emissions next year and may cost us more for the MOT test in future

[Parthiban]

When i had mine MOT'd last week i had to remove some of my LED's, and the MOT chap who did my car said that they are cracking down on the use of aftermarket/modified lighting and have to issue an advisory if they find them being used in a vehicle at the time of the MOT?

But if you do get the advisory notice it is also logged on the MOT system, so if your pulled over and you have re-fitted them again after the MOT you can face an on the spot fine??

Thats come from the MOT inspector and he says they are also cracking down on the emissions next year and may cost us more for the MOT test in future

They didn't give me an advisory, but didn't have a problem with the aftermarket lights themselves, just that the beam wasn't legal. She actually said I can put them back as soon as I leave the dealership (unofficially of course )

As the guys at Lexus are decent (and probably want to hang on to my service business) I doubt they'd kick up a fuss over some bulbs, but even so might be an idea to just stick the standard bulbs in for future tests.

In terms of emissions, how much are they going to crack down? The emissions report I got shows my car well within the limits prescribed, and technically I'm all for it if it gets those stinky bangers off the road :shutit:

[spikes]

When i had mine MOT'd last week i had to remove some of my LED's, and the MOT chap who did my car said that they are cracking down on the use of aftermarket/modified lighting and have to issue an advisory if they find them being used in a vehicle at the time of the MOT?

But if you do get the advisory notice it is also logged on the MOT system, so if your pulled over and you have re-fitted them again after the MOT you can face an on the spot fine??

Thats come from the MOT inspector and he says they are also cracking down on the emissions next year and may cost us more for the MOT test in future

they will always find something to bleed more money out of the motorist ok i'll stop moaning now :)

[aztecbandit1]

When i had mine MOT'd last week i had to remove some of my LED's, and the MOT chap who did my car said that they are cracking down on the use of aftermarket/modified lighting and have to issue an advisory if they find them being used in a vehicle at the time of the MOT?

But if you do get the advisory notice it is also logged on the MOT system, so if your pulled over and you have re-fitted them again after the MOT you can face an on the spot fine??

Thats come from the MOT inspector and he says they are also cracking down on the emissions next year and may cost us more for the MOT test in future

They didn't give me an advisory, but didn't have a problem with the aftermarket lights themselves, just that the beam wasn't legal. She actually said I can put them back as soon as I leave the dealership (unofficially of course )

As the guys at Lexus are decent (and probably want to hang on to my service business) I doubt they'd kick up a fuss over some bulbs, but even so might be an idea to just stick the standard bulbs in for future tests.

In terms of emissions, how much are they going to crack down? The emissions report I got shows my car well within the limits prescribed, and technically I'm all for it if it gets those stinky bangers off the road :shutit:

From what he was saying, its all down to the new emission based tax system so they have to be more acurate with the readings? The garage owner wasnt too happy as its just cost him £6000 for a new machine

Mine was very low on the emissions so had no need to worry :D

[Rabster]

Hmmmm mine is due soon we shall see what they say about mine then hopefully it wont fail on those or anything lol

[Gord]

When i had mine MOT'd last week i had to remove some of my LED's, and the MOT chap who did my car said that they are cracking down on the use of aftermarket/modified lighting and have to issue an advisory if they find them being used in a vehicle at the time of the MOT?

But if you do get the advisory notice it is also logged on the MOT system, so if your pulled over and you have re-fitted them again after the MOT you can face an on the spot fine??

Thats come from the MOT inspector and he says they are also cracking down on the emissions next year and may cost us more for the MOT test in future

They didn't give me an advisory, but didn't have a problem with the aftermarket lights themselves, just that the beam wasn't legal. She actually said I can put them back as soon as I leave the dealership (unofficially of course )

As the guys at Lexus are decent (and probably want to hang on to my service business) I doubt they'd kick up a fuss over some bulbs, but even so might be an idea to just stick the standard bulbs in for future tests.

In terms of emissions, how much are they going to crack down? The emissions report I got shows my car well within the limits prescribed, and technically I'm all for it if it gets those stinky bangers off the road :shutit:

From what he was saying, its all down to the new emission based tax system so they have to be more acurate with the readings? The garage owner wasnt too happy as its just cost him £6000 for a new machine

Mine was very low on the emissions so had no need to worry :D

Yep Steve has had to get new emissions machine toooo :o

[Kazi]

Never had a probs with mine. Got my Fourth MOT in November, will see what happens.

[fjcfarrar]

When i had mine MOT'd last week i had to remove some of my LED's, and the MOT chap who did my car said that they are cracking down on the use of aftermarket/modified lighting and have to issue an advisory if they find them being used in a vehicle at the time of the MOT?

But if you do get the advisory notice it is also logged on the MOT system, so if your pulled over and you have re-fitted them again after the MOT you can face an on the spot fine??

Thats come from the MOT inspector and he says they are also cracking down on the emissions next year and may cost us more for the MOT test in future

They didn't give me an advisory, but didn't have a problem with the aftermarket lights themselves, just that the beam wasn't legal. She actually said I can put them back as soon as I leave the dealership (unofficially of course )

As the guys at Lexus are decent (and probably want to hang on to my service business) I doubt they'd kick up a fuss over some bulbs, but even so might be an idea to just stick the standard bulbs in for future tests.

In terms of emissions, how much are they going to crack down? The emissions report I got shows my car well within the limits prescribed, and technically I'm all for it if it gets those stinky bangers off the road :shutit:

From what he was saying, its all down to the new emission based tax system so they have to be more acurate with the readings? The garage owner wasnt too happy as its just cost him £6000 for a new machine

Mine was very low on the emissions so had no need to worry :D

The HIDs failing MOT seems a bit odd. They are fitted as standard to the IS300, the IS200LE and to the upper end late models 200's anyway. One of the things that distinguishes them is a brighter, more accurate beam pattern on dip because the actual lamps have a better defined point source for the light. If the after-market lights use them on high beam, there could be a problem. But since there is virtually no circumstance where it is legal to use main beam for more than a few seconds except on dark empty roads where HID mains wouldn't be needed anyway; just dip is fine.

[Kazi]

When i had mine MOT'd last week i had to remove some of my LED's, and the MOT chap who did my car said that they are cracking down on the use of aftermarket/modified lighting and have to issue an advisory if they find them being used in a vehicle at the time of the MOT?

But if you do get the advisory notice it is also logged on the MOT system, so if your pulled over and you have re-fitted them again after the MOT you can face an on the spot fine??

Thats come from the MOT inspector and he says they are also cracking down on the emissions next year and may cost us more for the MOT test in future

They didn't give me an advisory, but didn't have a problem with the aftermarket lights themselves, just that the beam wasn't legal. She actually said I can put them back as soon as I leave the dealership (unofficially of course )

As the guys at Lexus are decent (and probably want to hang on to my service business) I doubt they'd kick up a fuss over some bulbs, but even so might be an idea to just stick the standard bulbs in for future tests.

In terms of emissions, how much are they going to crack down? The emissions report I got shows my car well within the limits prescribed, and technically I'm all for it if it gets those stinky bangers off the road :shutit:

From what he was saying, its all down to the new emission based tax system so they have to be more acurate with the readings? The garage owner wasnt too happy as its just cost him £6000 for a new machine

Mine was very low on the emissions so had no need to worry :D

The HIDs failing MOT seems a bit odd. They are fitted as standard to the IS300, the IS200LE and to the upper end late models 200's anyway. One of the things that distinguishes them is a brighter, more accurate beam pattern on dip because the actual lamps have a better defined point source for the light. If the after-market lights use them on high beam, there could be a problem. But since there is virtually no circumstance where it is legal to use main beam for more than a few seconds except on dark empty roads where HID mains wouldn't be needed anyway; just dip is fine.

Its illegal to fit after market HIDs as the scatter pattern is not compliant, they are not usually self leveling and not always self cleaning.

Self cleaning is about it on an IS200 and thats only SE, sport and LE models I believe

[Parthiban]

Kazi's right, although they don't tend to care about the self-levelling or washers (as I don't think most actually know that's the rule), the problem is that the reflector on the IS200 is for halogen lamps, so doesn't have the clear cut-off required for xenons..........

[durg]

When i had mine MOT'd last week i had to remove some of my LED's, and the MOT chap who did my car said that they are cracking down on the use of aftermarket/modified lighting and have to issue an advisory if they find them being used in a vehicle at the time of the MOT?

But if you do get the advisory notice it is also logged on the MOT system, so if your pulled over and you have re-fitted them again after the MOT you can face an on the spot fine??

Thats come from the MOT inspector and he says they are also cracking down on the emissions next year and may cost us more for the MOT test in future

They didn't give me an advisory, but didn't have a problem with the aftermarket lights themselves, just that the beam wasn't legal. She actually said I can put them back as soon as I leave the dealership (unofficially of course )

As the guys at Lexus are decent (and probably want to hang on to my service business) I doubt they'd kick up a fuss over some bulbs, but even so might be an idea to just stick the standard bulbs in for future tests.

In terms of emissions, how much are they going to crack down? The emissions report I got shows my car well within the limits prescribed, and technically I'm all for it if it gets those stinky bangers off the road :shutit:

From what he was saying, its all down to the new emission based tax system so they have to be more acurate with the readings? The garage owner wasnt too happy as its just cost him £6000 for a new machine

Mine was very low on the emissions so had no need to worry :D

The new analysis equipment is to detect the lower levels of emissions given off by newer cars more accurately and is nothing to do with the new tax bands. The tax bands are linked to CO₂ figures and the MOT analysis looks at pollutant gases - CO₂ currently isn't considered a pollutant.

Don't get me wrong here though - I think the new tax bands are a stupid idea - yes they should apply to new cars but not work retrospectively. As far as I'm aware the only other retrospective law enforced on vehicles has been the fitment of reflectors. Not even seat belts are a legal requirement on many old cars! Now that's stupid!

[aztecbandit1]

When i had mine MOT'd last week i had to remove some of my LED's, and the MOT chap who did my car said that they are cracking down on the use of aftermarket/modified lighting and have to issue an advisory if they find them being used in a vehicle at the time of the MOT?

But if you do get the advisory notice it is also logged on the MOT system, so if your pulled over and you have re-fitted them again after the MOT you can face an on the spot fine??

Thats come from the MOT inspector and he says they are also cracking down on the emissions next year and may cost us more for the MOT test in future

They didn't give me an advisory, but didn't have a problem with the aftermarket lights themselves, just that the beam wasn't legal. She actually said I can put them back as soon as I leave the dealership (unofficially of course )

As the guys at Lexus are decent (and probably want to hang on to my service business) I doubt they'd kick up a fuss over some bulbs, but even so might be an idea to just stick the standard bulbs in for future tests.

In terms of emissions, how much are they going to crack down? The emissions report I got shows my car well within the limits prescribed, and technically I'm all for it if it gets those stinky bangers off the road :shutit:

From what he was saying, its all down to the new emission based tax system so they have to be more acurate with the readings? The garage owner wasnt too happy as its just cost him £6000 for a new machine

Mine was very low on the emissions so had no need to worry :D

The new analysis equipment is to detect the lower levels of emissions given off by newer cars more accurately and is nothing to do with the new tax bands. The tax bands are linked to CO₂ figures and the MOT analysis looks at pollutant gases - CO₂ currently isn't considered a pollutant.

Don't get me wrong here though - I think the new tax bands are a stupid idea - yes they should apply to new cars but not work retrospectively. As far as I'm aware the only other retrospective law enforced on vehicles has been the fitment of reflectors. Not even seat belts are a legal requirement on many old cars! Now that's stupid!

Cheers for that info matey, The chap that did my MOT wasn't 100% sure at the time about the new emission tests, :D

Yeh and i think the seat belt thing is very stupid aswell! Do you know if there are any new requirments with the lighting on cars?

[Parthiban]

The new analysis equipment is to detect the lower levels of emissions given off by newer cars more accurately and is nothing to do with the new tax bands. The tax bands are linked to CO₂ figures and the MOT analysis looks at pollutant gases - CO₂ currently isn't considered a pollutant.

Don't get me wrong here though - I think the new tax bands are a stupid idea - yes they should apply to new cars but not work retrospectively. As far as I'm aware the only other retrospective law enforced on vehicles has been the fitment of reflectors. Not even seat belts are a legal requirement on many old cars! Now that's stupid!

That is exactly why it's so stupid, if the tax bands were based on the amount of CO or particulates, that would make a lot more sense and I'd back it 100%............

A side note, haven't bothered to swap the HIDs back in yet and had to take the car out last night - the difference was so weird to be back using halogens. There was definitely much more light put out right in front of the car, but it wasn't lighting up anywhere near the same distance as my HIDs. However, this has got me thinking again about getting a set of 4300K bulbs, as while the 8300K looks awesome, I'm not getting the most out of them.

Would like to see some in the flesh though, has anyone got 4300K in the London area?

[VAROOM]

The only reason the hids would fail a mot is if the beam pattern is affected or too far up/down/left/right.

or if they are too blue 4-600k is ok.

the point made about self leveling or self cleaning only applies to a import sva test.

[Parthiban]

The only reason the hids would fail a mot is if the beam pattern is affected or too far up/down/left/right.

or if they are too blue 4-600k is ok.

the point made about self leveling or self cleaning only applies to a import sva test.

Yep mine failed due to the beam pattern, they didn't care that they were blue, to be honest 8300K isn't really that blue.

However, technically a car with xenons must have headlamp washers and self-level, it's not just an import thing. (That's why on cars where these are options, as soon as you add xenons it will automatically add washers too :winky: )